Mikko's Phylogeny Archive

Tetrapoda [Stegocephali] – terrestrial vertebrates

Note:

Phylogeny of basal tetrapods [amphibians] is quite murky. This murkiness focuses greatly in the question of the origin and relationships of modern amphibians.

Carroll (1988) presents view that modern amphibians [Lissamphibia] is a polyphyletic group, gymnophionas and salamanders being advanced microsaurs and frogs being advanced temnospondyls. Milner (1994) in the other hand, presents a view of monophyletic Lissamphibia, which sistergroup are plagiosaur-dissorophoids. Laurin & Reisz (1997) support view, in which lissamphibians belong to reptiliomorphs. Yates & Warren (2000) present a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Temnospondyli, but it didn't include lissamphibians.

Most recently Anderson et al. (2008), while describing a new Amphibamid temnospondyl, and after running a phylogenetic analysis, came to a conclusion, that the Batrachia (i.e. frogs and salamanders where close relatives of this new amphibamid and thus belonged to the temnospondylian amphibians. In the same analysis they also found that gymnophiones share a most recent ancester with microsaurs of the lepospondylian ambhibians. Based on their new phylogeny they resurrected Carroll's idea of polyphyletic origin of Lissamphibia.